Palestine urges Israel to withdraw from Gaza

Israel is seeking to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement for an additional 42 days, while Hamas rejects this and wants to move forward with negotiations for the second phase.

Gaza: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called for the Israeli army to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and allow the State of Palestine to assume its duties.

In a press statement, the ministry called for real international measures “to curb the occupation’s aggression against our people and their rights in a way that ensures the establishment of a ceasefire and the rapid empowerment of the State of Palestine and its internationally recognized legitimate institutions to carry out their responsibilities and immediately extend their sovereignty over the Gaza Strip and the entire Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

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Earlier on Saturday, the 42-day initial phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel expired, with no breakthrough announced for its next phase, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel is seeking to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement for an additional 42 days, while Hamas rejects this and wants to move forward with negotiations for the second phase.

The second phase of the agreement is supposed to focus on the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli officials said that the military would not withdraw from the strategic strip along the Gaza-Egypt border despite a ceasefire agreement that calls for a pullout by Saturday.

Israel received the bodies of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, marking the final swap under the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal.

Three of the hostages were killed while in captivity, while the fourth died during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, according to the Prime Minister’s office. Forensic experts in Tel Aviv confirmed the identification of the four bodies after Hamas handed them over.